Stocking heel protector



' .March 23, 1948. F. GAILEY l 2,438,280

sT`ocKiNG HEEL PROTECTOR Filed NOV. 2l, 1945 y f- -INVENTOR.l f2 off/V65 ,4 f/V/,L 5) I Patented Mar.- 23, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application November 21, 1945, Serial No. 629,973

1 claim. 1

My invention relates to a stocking heel protector and has for its principal object, to provide simple, practical and effective means applied to the rear walls and bottoms of conventional stocking heel protectors, for reinforcing same and counteracting forces tending to collapse, wrinkle and crush said walls to such a degree as to render them uncomfortable to the wearer and unfit for service.

Conventional stocking heel protectors are generally made from this flexible moistproof material and in use, the rear portions of the upright walls of said protectors are prone to buckle, crush down and fold or wrinkle, to the discomfort of the wearer and my invention is designed to eliminate these undesirable results, by securing to the outer faces of the rear end walls of the protectors, thin reinforcing layers of smooth flexible material such as sheet plastics, thereby materially increasing the life or periods of service of the protectors, also adding to the wearing comfort thereof.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fully describedy and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a stocking heel protector constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modified form of the protector.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the form of protector seen in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a further modified form of protector.

Fig. 6 is a view looking `against the bottom of the form of protector seen in Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is a rear elevation of a further modified form of my invention.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the form of protector seen in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a rear elevational View of a further modifled form of the protector.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I0 designates the upright wall and II the bottom of a conventional stocking heel protector, and in the form of the invention disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2, a reinforcing member I2 of thin flexible sheet material such as plastics, Celluloid, pressed bre, or the like is se- 2 cured, preferably by moistureproof cement, to the outer face of the rear portion of wall I0 and to the rear of the sides thereof. The height of the reinforcing member I2 is slightly less thanl the height of the rear portion of wall I0.

The outer face of member I2 has a smooth finished surface in order to minimize friction between same and contacting portion of the shoe upper.

Figs. 1 and 2 show member I2 extending forwardly on the side portions of wall Ill and in Figs. 3 and 4 said member ycovers only the rear portion of said wall I0.

In the modified construction illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, a reinforcing member I3, is applied to the rear Iportion only of wall I0 and a narrow strip of flexible material I4, integral with said member I3, extends beneath and is secured to the underface of the protector bottom II.

In Fig. 9, a narrow reinforcing strap I1 is secured in vertical position on the outer face of the rear portion of wall I0 with a wider integral portion I8 extending beneath and secured to the bottom I I of the protector.

Thus it will be seen that in all forms of my invention, the applied member of thin, flexible, moistureproof material, is positioned upon the protector so as to materially reinforce same and counteract tendency of the wall to collapse, wrinkle and crush down while in service.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved stocking heel protector may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

The combination with a stocking heel protector formed of thin, soft material and comprising a bottom and an upright wall having its lower edge secured to the side and rear edges of said bottom of a reinforcing member of thin flexible plastic material secured to the outer face of the upright wall of the rear portion of said protector and a narrow strip of plastic material integral lwith the lower edge of said reinforcing member,

which strip extends forwardly beneath and is secured to the under face of the bottom of said heel protector and which reinforcing member and strip are provided with smooth finished outer surfaces.

FLORENCE L. GMLEY.

(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED Y The following references are of record in the me of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 'Date4 1 1,122,884 Eliason et al Dec. 29, 1914 Number I Name Date Stewart Apr. 1'7, 1917 SheridanV May 15, 1928 Watanabe June 25, 1929 Watanabe Jan. 24, 1933 Theusner Jan. 24, 1933 Paull I'elof19,y 1935 Saito Feb. 13, 1934 

